THE CUBA REVIEW 15 



Education in the Island of Cuba 



By H. O. Neville 



It is only natural to presume, in view of the indifference with which Spain has 

 always treated her colonies, that the education of the members thereof would receive 

 little or no attention at her hands. It is also a matter of history that Spain herself has 

 suffered seriously from this lack of general educational facilities, and it cannot be expected 

 that she would give better treatment to her colonies than she was giving to her own 

 people. The result has been that education in Cuba has been subject to many ups and 

 downs, mostly downs, during the early part of the colonial period. 



The history of education during the Spanish regime can be divided into two epochs, 

 the first extending from the establishment of the colony to 1793, during which only 

 the determined efforts and generosity of some of Cuba's private citizens brought about 

 the establishment for limited periods of only a very few schools. Thus we find that in 

 1689, upon the founding of the City of Santa Clara, known at that time as Villa Clara, 

 a school was established in that town, in which primary education was continuous. In 

 1712 Dr. Juan Congedo, a philanthropic citizen of Remedios, opened a free school there, 

 and forty-five years later another at Carmen, a third being opened two years later at 

 Arriaga, all of Santa Clara Province. These schools, however, were closed upon the 

 death of Sr. Congedo, though through the beneficence of Don Juan Felix de Mo^-a that at 

 Carmen was reopened, but again was closed definitely in 1787. Some seventy-eight years 

 after the foundation of Matanzas — that is, in 1771 — the city authorized its Governor 

 to engage a school teacher in Havana, but history does not tell us whether this authoriza- 

 tion was carried out. 



Education of a higher character was receiving more attention, but accounts lead us 

 to believe that more attention was paid the form than the substance, private schools 

 that were of a very mediocre character offering practically primary education, receiving 

 high sounding names and holding out promises of preparation for the University. Latin 

 was given pre-eminence in the courses offered by these schools, this being, of course, only 

 natural, as among the clergy teachers having a knowledge of this language were numerous. 

 In 1689 the College of San Ambrosio was estabhshed in Havana, ostensibly for the pur- 

 pose of preparing young men for the church, but accounts tell us that its education was 

 very defective and was censured by one of the Bishops of the Catholic Church as having 

 become reduced merely to an institution to teach Latin and singing. As the population 

 increased, the demands for higher education became greater, until Don Gregorio Diaz 

 Angel, a citizen of Havana, gave a contribution of $40,000 for the support of a college. 

 This was in 1717, but the necessary permit was not obtained until 1721, and three years 

 more passed in selecting and purchasing the ground for the institution, so that not until 

 1724 was the school opened under the name of San Ignacio. With this was then united 

 the College of San Ambrosio, which had been conducted under the direction of the 

 Jesuits since its foundation in 1689, although the operation of the old college was still 

 continued as a school of instruction for the church. 



University education was early thought of in Havana. Even as early as 1688 the 

 Havana City Council applied to the Spanish Government for a university at which young 

 men could be educated, thus avoiding their having to leave Cuba for the mainland or 

 Spain for this purpose. Many years, however, intervened before encouragement was 

 received, but finally a letter of Innocent the XIII of September 12, 1721, authorized the 

 fathers of the Convent of San Juan de Letran to found the institution, which after seven 

 years of preparation was opened in 1728. though the chairs of morals, philosophy and 

 canon law were previously filled by the Dominican friars. This university was to have 

 been modeled upon that of Santo Domingo, but finally the Dominican fathers were en- 

 trusted by a royal letter in 1732 with preparations of all regulations connected with the 

 institution, these being approved by the necessary authorities in 1734. Inasmuch, however, 

 as the governing authorities of the university were Dominicans, innumerable rivalries 



